Dirck Dircksz. van Santvoort: Portrait of Martinus & Clara Alewijn (1644)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Two paintings by the Dutch artist Dirck Dircksz. van Santvoort (1610-1680). These two are the children of the cloth merchant Abraham Dircksz Alewijn (1607-1679) and Geertruid Hooftman (1609-1658). On the left is Martinus Alewijn (1634-1684) and on the right is his sister Clara Alewijn (1635-1674). Martinus married with Anna Hooftman around 1660/61 and the couple had three children. Clara married with Daniel Jean Bernard, lord of Kattenbroek. Both are depicted as shepherds, with a shepherds staf, a dog (in the case of Martinus), a bow and quiver (in the case of Clara) and several sheep. The depiction as shepherds refer to the outdoors, hunting and the prominent social position of the family. Paintings from 1644.